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Sound of Barra: Scientific Objection
to its proposed designation as possible SAC.
Editorial re LandCare Scotland 2002: 1, 3-49
James Irvine
Teviot Agriculture, Cultybraggan Farm, Comrie,
Perthshire
Teviot Scientific Consultancy, Edinburgh
(Filed 10 July 2003)
www.land-care.org.uk
©LandCare Scotland
It is of some importance that the objections by
local communities to schemes proposed by government agencies, such
as Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), are given a wide hearing. This
is especially so when the objections are based on alleged misrepresentation
of the underlying science to those who have concerns about an agency’s
intentions.
This issue of LandCare Scotland describes the
grounds for objecting to the proposal by SNH to designate the Sound
of Barra as a special area of conservation. It takes the form of
a scientific objection prepared by Ian Mitchell on behalf of the
Western Isles Fishermen’s Association, and which formed the
basis of Public Petition number 463 which was presented to the Public
Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament in 2001. The petition
was in the names of Councillor Donald Manford and Mrs Marybell Galbraith
(Isle of Barra) and was supported by a number of local Community
Councils, other local persons and other organisations.
SNH subsequently withdrew its proposal and has
not as yet presented it to Brussels, either in the present or in
a revised form.
The Petitions Committee is one of the most respected
aspects of the relatively new Scottish Parliament, formed after
partial devolution from Westminster in 1999.
Land Care Scotland is published by Teviot-Kimpton
Publications
A Division of Teviot ScientificPublications Ltd, Edinburgh
Registered with the British Library: ISSN 1462-6454
Email: landcarescotland@aol.com
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